Metal wall building construction



1936- G. v. PALMER 2,049,862

METAL WALL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6; 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TOR.

Georye Whcenf Palm 1 I ITTOR EYS.

4, 1936." v G. v. PALMER 2,049,362 I METAL WALL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. V117 cenf palmer I .Z I BYW [7 v. 4 ATTO YS.

Aug. 4, 1936. G. v. PALMER METAL WALL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 6, 1933 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR 1202122 Palmer BYW/iy/ George VI Patented Aug. 4, 1936 STATES METAL WALL BUILDING CONSTRUCTION George Vincent Palmer, Los Angeles, Calif., as-

signor to Palmer Steel Buildings, Incorporated,

Los Angeles, Calif., a

corporation of California Application September 6, 1933, Serial No. 688,306

3 Claims.

This invention relates to building construction and particularly to the use of preformed metal wall elements in the construction of vertical wall structures.

is to provide a construction employing preformed structural metal shapes in wall construction whereby a highly advantageous structure, both from the standpoint of cost and strength, is obtained, which is insect-proof and resistant to damage by the elements or by animal or vegetable agencies. r

The present invention involves the use of metal wall elements which are commercially available or may be easily manufactured at low cost, and which may be assembled in a novel and advantageous manner to form walls and wall sections of high structural strength at a low cost. Structural shapes such as shown and described in U. S. Patent No. 1,867,433, issued to J. H. Young, July 12, 1932, may be used to good advantage for the purposes of this invention, but it will be understood that other types of preformed metal wall elements, examples of which are described hereinafter, may also be used. a

In general, the invention provides for the securing of metal walls, formed of wall elements such as above-mentioned, to masonry, either for the purpose of securing such a wall to a masonry supporting or structural member, or for the purpose of uniting two such Walls through the agency of a. masonry member as at a corner or junction of two meeting walls, or for the purpose of securing to a wall a masonry member lying in or extending through the plane of such wall, or for other purposes. For the sake of simplicity, in the following description'and, the appended claims, the term masonry or masonry construction will be understood to include concrete, cement, gypsum, brick, stone, or the like. In certain cases, where the construction is such as to require that the masonry member be poured or otherwise placed in position while in a fluent condition, it will be understood that the description implies the use of a suitable fluent masonry material which is adapted to set or harden after the pouring or placing thereof, such as a wet mix of concrete, cement, gypsum or the like. i

One of the important objects of the invention is to provide for attaching a metal wall or wall element of the type described to masonry withtaching member.

The principal object of the present invention.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction in which a metal wall. or wall element of the character described is sealed to masonry in such manner as to obtain a. weathertight joint having high resistance to stresses applied in any direction.

A further object of the invention is to provide a construction whereby abutting or intersecting wall surfaces are'locked together or joined through the agency of concrete or other 10 masonry.

A further object of the invention is to provide for the securing of a metal wall structure to a masonry member as at a corner or wall intersection, in such manner that the surface of 15 Y the masonry member constitutes a continuation of the plane of aface of the metal wall in order to provide a means of attaching'surface materials such as stucco or plaster, and, if desired, in such manner as to provide additional structural 20 strength.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be pointed out hereinafter or will be apparent from the following description.

The construction ofthe present invention contemplates the use of structural elements formed of sheet steel or other metal, and consisting generally of flat plates provided or not with one or more hollow cells secured thereto and extending longitudinally thereof, said flat plate portions of the structural elements being preferably provided at their longitudinal edges with overlapping portions whereby two or more of said elements may be assembled in a plane. to form a vertical wall. The overlapping portions may, if desired, be so formed as to interlock with one another so as to form, when so assembled, a substantially. continuousstructural wallor wall section of high load-carrying capacity.

In the forming of a wall throughthe. use of structural. elements. of the character abovedescribed, the several elements are preferably disposed in alined vertical relation andthe several elements may be suitably secured at one end, as by welding or otherwise, to a suitable structural member extending along the length of the wall, and the other endsembedded in a masonry member extending along the full length of such wall.

Advantageous means may also be provided for securing a wall, formed as above described, to a vertically extending masonry member, either with or without the use of auxiliary securing or reinforcing means, in order to provide a corner or junction construction, or to secure the lateral edges of the wall to a masonry wall or structural member, or to secure to the wall a masonry member lying in or extending through the plane of the wall, or for other purposes.

The accompanying drawings illustrate the several features of the present invention, together with important modifications thereof, and referring thereto:

Fig. lis an isometric view of a section of metal wall element useful according to the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an isometric view of a partly broken away corner construction showing two contiguous walls meeting at an angle and interlocked through the agency of a masonry member, the above-mentioned cells being disposed'outwardly of the corner;

Fig. 3 is a vertical section along one wall thereof showing the interlocking means for causing engagement of the masonry member with the adjacent wall section;

Fig. 4 is a horizontal section thereof showing an alternative form of interlocking means;

Fig. 5 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4 showing another alternative form of interlocking means;

Fig. 6 is a view corresponding to Fig. 2, showing a further modified form of interlocking means adapted for positioning alinement of the abutting Wall sections; v

Fig, '7 is a horizontal section of the construction shown in Fig. 6;

. Fig. 8 is an isometric view of a corner construction corresponding to Fig. 2, showing a construction in which the above-mentioned cells are disposed inwardly of the corner, a modified type of structural element being employed;

Fig. 9 is a horizontal sectional view of a construction such as shown in Fig. 8, in which the corner structural elements are of a modified type and the remaining structural elements are of a more or less standard type shown in Fig. 1, the

adjacent wall sections being interlocked through the agency of a steel angle member and a masomy member;

Fig. 10 is a view corresponding to Fig. 9, and shows an alternative construction interlocking two adjacent wall sections through the agency of a masonry member tied in with reinforcing rods or bolts; I

Fig. 11 is a viewcorresponding to Fig. 9 showing two meeting wall sections secured together through the agency of a masonry column; which extends into adjacent cells of the wall section, so as to provide a column of greater cross-sectional area which, may serve as a load-bearing column;

Fig. 12 is a view corresponding to Fig. 4.showing two joining wall structures interlocked by means of a masonry column of the type shown in Fig. 11; a

Fig. 13 is a horizontal section showing two meeting walls interlocked through the agency .a masonry wall or column; and- Fig. 17 is a horizontal sectional view of the construction shown in Fig. 16.

The shape of the individual wall elements may be as shown in detail in Fig. 1, wherein such elements are shown as each comprising a fiat plate II provided along one longitudinal edge with a female interlocking member such as a channel 12 and along the opposite edge with a male interlocking member such as a flange l3. The hollow cells which contribute to the structural strength of the elements may be formed by a metal sheet I l bent to form one or more channels of U or V shape and secured to the plate H at points of contact such as at l5 by Welding or riveting, or in any other suitable manner, with the open side of the channels facing the sheet II. The flat sheet II and the bent sheet l4 thus define two parallel longitudinal hollow cells C, each having the closed crosssectional shape of a symmetrical trapezium and extending along the length of the structural element l and preferably throughout substantially the entire length thereof. An intermediate channel C of similar but reversed shape is also provided with its open side directed away from the flat sheet II. The side walls 35 of each of the cells C are preferably provided with one or more openings 46 which are of particular advantage in interlocking adjacent elements in certain forms of corner constructions, as hereinafter described. For example, these openings 66 may be utilized in producing a mechanical interlock between joining walls and masonry member, or the like, either through the use of reinforcing bolts or rods passed through such openings and embedded in the masonry, or by causing the masonry to mechanically interlock in the openings, or both. The openings 46 may also be used for installation of transversely'extending service conduits or the like.

As shown and described in the above-mentioned United States Patent No. 1,867,433, numerous modifications in the cross-sectional configuration of the individual metal wall elements may be made. For example, the hollow cells C may be made relatively deep with respect to their width or, vice versa, relatively wide with respect to their depth, or, a single cell may be provided on the plate I! either centrally of the plate as shown in Fig. 8, or adjacent one edge of the plate as shown in Figs. 9 and 10. Furthermore, as shown in Fig. 15, the width of the plate member may be increased to any desired extent and more than two cells C maybe provided, the form shown in Fig. being provided with four such cells. It will be appreciated that any or all of such modifications are adaptable to use according to the present invention, in some embodiments thereof certain preferred modifications being employed. The present invention is not directed to the provision of any certain modifications of the structural unit itself but to certain advantageous methods of associating such structural units with masonry members in certain prescribed relationships, to provide a unitary and structural joining of two intersecting or joining vertical wall structures or of a wall structure with a vertically extending masonry member.

The manner of assembling a plurality of metal wall elements into a vertical wall structure is clearly brought out in the various figures of drawings, the male interlocking member I2 of one element being placed in position in the female interlocking member I2 of an adjacent element until the desired length of wall is ob-- tained, and the lower ends of each of the. elements may be suitably secured to a suitable foundation member as by being embedded therein, and the upper ends of the several elements may be maintained in respective alinement by welding or through the agency of a suitable structural member extending. longitudinally along the upper ends of the elements, which also provides for distribution of imposed loads among the several elements. The above-mentioned alinement and load distribution member and its application to strengthening a wall formed of a plurality of the above-described metal elements is more particularly disclosed in my co-pending application Ser. No. 688,307.

In Figs. 2, 3 and 4 I have shown a corner construction in which two walls, each comprising a plurality of wall elements l, are established in joining or meeting relation, with their lower ends supported bya masonry foundation block 4!. In order to secure the adjacent portions of the two walls in the desired joining relation, .and in order to provide a solid. exterior corner, I may cast a masonry member 42 between the adjacent end cells 53 and 4d of the respective walls. In orderto. secure the masonry member in engagement with the walls, I prefer to tie the same thereto through the agency of suitable interlocking means. In these figures, the respective cells C are provided with side walls t5 having suitable apertures formed therein as shown at 46. These apertures may be formed as holes of circular or any other suitable shape punched in the metal of which the elements are fabricated, or may be formed therein after fabrication, and may be disposed substantially along the center line of the cells as shown or in any other suitable position. A spring metal loop 41 of horseshoe shape and provided with bent-over end portions ea may be secured to the cell walls 45 by springing the bent-over portions 48 inwardly and passing the same through twoadjacent holes 56 and allowing them to spring outwardly into engagement with the edges thereof. These spring loops may be disposed vertically as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, alternately in each of the opposing walls 45 of the two meeting wall structures, or may be disposed horizontally through opposing holes 46 in the respective opposing walls 45 of the adjacent walls, as shown in Fig. 4, and masonry of suitable fluency poured between the said opposing walls 45, a suitable form 58 or the like being provided in the/planes of the outer surfaces of the wall sections (indicated by the dot-dash lines p-p and pp in Fig. 4) so as to provide a corner column or member 42 formed as an extension of such planes to define a suitable corner ea. As the masonry is poured in place, it will ooze through the holes 46 to some extent, as shown in Fig. 3 at 55 and in Fig. 4 at 52, which exudations will cooperate with the loops All after solidification of the masonry to securely position said masonry member in the desired relation to the walls. The masonry will also become interlocked with the interlocking members I2 and i3.

ified, the bolts may be drawn up by tightening the respective 'nuts' so that the member is brought in close relation to the adjacent wall portions, and the forms removed.

In Figs. 6 and 7 I have shown an additional alternative method of holding the adjacent walls as. well as the masonry member in desired relation. When the adjacent wall elements. I are brought intothe desired position, a split sleeve 55, preferably formed of resilient metal, is forced over the edge portions, namely the interlocking means I3 and H, of said elements, serving to maintain the same in closely engaging position. These split sleeves 55 are preferably large enough with respect to the dimensions of the respective interlocking means l3 and i2 so'that a space 56 is enclosed thereby, and these sleeves may be spaced at intervals along the junction of the two walls as shown in Fig. 6 and the masonry poured in place as above described in which case the masonry will flow within the space 56 and about the sleeve 55, securely positioning said sleeve with respect to the elements 1 and also securely tying the masonry member 51 to the wall structure. If desired, I may use a split sleeve 55 of sufficient length to extend substantially the full length of the edge portions of the walls, or may use a number of sleeves spaced close together, so as to provide a strong connection between the walls through the agency of suchsleeve or sleeves, and this construction may be'used either with or without the additional use of masonry as above described.

The above-described forms of corner construction have shown the cell portions of the wall elements disposed exteriorly of the wall surface, assuming that the corner shown in Fig. 2 is an exterior or salient corner. It will be understood, however, that the construction shown in Fig; 2 may represent an interior or re-entrant corner inwwhich case the cells are disposed inwardly of the wall structure.

Fig. 8 represents either an exterior corner construction in which the cell portions of the structural elements are! disposed inwardly of the wall structure, or an interior corner forminga re-entrant angle in which the cell portions face outwardly thereof. The foundation member 58 may be of suitable masonry as desired, and the lower ends of the wall elements may be embedded therein by means of a grout 59, may be secured by casting the foundation in an integral block, or may be secured thereto in any other suitable manner. The individual wall elements may be of a type comprising a fiat plate 39 provided with a single cell C4. When the plates 39 of the joining walls are brought together at the corner, the lower ends of the elements being secured as above described and the upper ends of the elements being secured by means of a suitable angle iron or the like extending along and secured thereto in a suitable manner, masonry may be poured as at 5! into the space defined by the adjacent plates and adjacent walls of the adjacent cells. A suitable form member such as shown in dotted lines at .62 may be positioned at. the inner corner to retain the masonry during solidification thereof and prevent the same from flowing between the opposing cells. Suitable bolts or the like 63 may be passed through openings 64 in the cell walls in a manner similar to that shown in Fig. 5, if desired, for tying the masonry member in place.

In Fig. 9 I have shown a corner construction comparable to that shown in Fig. 8, in which.

wall elements 5 having a single cell along one side are employed at the corner portion thereof,

with the single cell C disposed adjacent the edge thereof away from the junction of the walls, and wall elements of the type shown at l are provided for the .main body of the wall. A masonry member 65 may be poured in the corner section defined by the elements 5, with the use of a form as described in connection with Fig. 8, or, an angle-iron 66 may be welded or otherwise secured to the adjacent cells 61 and B8 to serve as the form for the concrete column and also contribute to the structural rigidity of the construction. In this construction, the side walls of the hollow cells of the wall elements may be provided with perforations as at 45, in which case the masonry will flow into such perforations and exude from the cell wall as shown at 650., providing an additional mechanical interlock for the masonry member 65 with the meeting wall structures.

As an alternative construction, a plurality of bolts may be provided extending through alined perforations 86 in the adjacent side walls of the cells 61 and 68, as shown at 69 in Fig. 10, and a suitable form such as shown at H employed at the inner portion of the corner to obtain the desired forming of the masonry member 12. The bolts 69 may be considerably smaller than the perforations 46, for example, a inch bolt may be used in a 1. inch perforation, in which case the masonry will exude through the perforations and form an additional mechanical interlook, as at 720.. Also, if desired, metal spring loops of the type shown in Figs. 2 and 3 may be used for tying the masonry to the walls in this form of corner construction.

Figs. 11 and 12 show constructions in which a load-bearing masonry column is provided at the junction of two meeting walls, the one in connection with an angle in which the cells of the wall are disposed inwardly of the angle, and the other in connection with an angle in which the cells of the wall are disposed outwardly of the angle. Fig. 1 1 shows the use of wall elements as shown at 5 for the corner portions of the structure and wall elements such as shown at l for the body of the wall construction, and masonry is poured as at 13 into the area corresponding to that shown at 65 in Fig. 9 and masonry is also poured into the adjacent cells as shown at M and E5. The cell walls are provided with suitable openings as at T6 and TI and thus a masonry interlock is obtained not only between the portions 14 and 15 and the portion i3, but also exteriorly of the portions 74 and 15 by the exudation of the masonry material through the holes 11, forming exuded knobs or the like as shown at 78. This arrangement'affords a quite rigidstress-resisting and loadbearing structure. A form may be used as shown in dotted lines at 75 for forming the inner angle of the portion 13 of the load-bearing column. In Fig. 12, a form such as shown in dotted lines at 8! may be used in the exterior angle of the corner and masonry poured into the adjacent cells 82 and 83 and the corner portion 84 in the same manner as above described to obtain the desired interlocking andload-bearing structure. Metal interlocking means of any of the types above described may also be used in either of the constructions shown in Figs. 11 and 12.

Figs. 13 and 14 show two methods of joining 'masonry in place during setting thereof.

meeting walls one of which is continued beyond.

the junction thereof, said walls being secured in one case through the agency of a masonry bond and in the other case through the agency of a masonry and reinforcing rod bond. Referring to Fig. 13, a wall is shown at 86, formed principally of elements of the type shown at I but in which an element of the type shown at 5 in Fig. 9 is incorporated in the wall at the point of junction of another divergent wall 81 which may beformed of a plurality of elements I. In this method of bonding, the wall 81 may be shored in place between a cell C. of the wall element 5 and a cell C of the element I, suitable form material being disposed as shown by dotted lines at 88 and 89 and masonry of suitable character and consistency poured between the cells Cl and C and within the end cell SI of the wall 87. In this case the respective wall elements are provided with cells which are perforated in some suitable manner such as above described, as at 92, and the masonry material will ooze through these holes, bonding the cell 9| between the cells C. and C.

In the construction shown in Fig. 14, the wall 93 may be provided with elements of the type shown at 5 and I, as above described, and the end cell'94 of the meeting wall 95 is provided with openings 96 and 91 in position to aline with the openings 92 in the cells C and C4 and a suitable rod 98 is passed through the holes 92, 96 and 91 and masonry is poured in the cells C, 94 and. C4, surrounding the interior cell walls and the major portion of the rod 98. Suitable form material may be provided as at 99 if desired. This construction provides for a high-strength structural bond between the two walls 93 and 95 which is capable of resisting stresses in substantially any direction.

In Fig. 15 I have shown a simple means for providing a reinforcement of a joint between two wall elements of the type shown at H, or, as shown, between two adjacent double-width wall elements I05, through the agency of one or more reinforcing bars lill passed through suitable holes l02 in the cell side walls, with masonry poured as at I83 into the space between two cells C through which the rod mi passes, suitable form means being provided during the pouring of the masonry as at lil to hold such In both the construction shown in Fig. 14 and in the construction shown in Fig. 15, the reinforcing rods may be placed in the respective holes in the cell side walls as the wall is being as sembled or the rod may be placed in the holes at the end of the wall and pushed through one element after another until it is in the desired location. The construction shown in Fig. 15 is particularly adaptable in the case of relatively long wall sections where it is desired to additionally reinforce certain portions thereof. It also serves to provide a water-tight, weathertight, and insect-proof seal at a joint between adjacent wall elements.

In Figs. 16 and 17 I have shown a wall structure I98 formed, for example, of metal wall elements of the type shown at l, the edge element I89 being'partly embedded in a masonry column or wall section 1 l9, a construction which is particularly useful where a metal partition or the like is tobe provided in a building having masonrywalls or columns. This construction provides for veryrsecure engagement of the edge portions of such a partition with the main building structure and is advantageous in that the.

partition may be erected after the placing of the masonry member. For example, the edge element I09 may be placed in its correct position and the masonry member I I formed in engagement with the same, after which the remaining portion of the wall may be assembled and brought into proper interlocking engagement with the element Hi9. If desired, the entire wall may be assembled and placed in position prior to the forming of the masonry member.

In each of the above-described forms of wall construction the respective wall members are placed in stress-communicating relation with the masonry construction in such manner as to resist or transmit stresses applied in any direction, and in addition, a satisfactory load-bearing column is produced, in which vertically applied loads of relatively large magnitude may be imposed upon the masonry member in view of the fact that such member is maintained along a definite line by the reinforcing action of the metal wall structures, and thus flexing and objectionable bending moments in the masonry member are avoided.

I claim:

1. A metal wall building construction comprising a plurality of vertical preformed metal wall elements, each comprising one or more longitudinally extending hollow cells of closed cross-section and disposed in contiguous alined relationship to form a vertical wall, and a masonry structural member extending along a vertical edge of said wall and mechanically interlocking with one of the cells of said wall, said hollow cells having side walls provided with a plurality of perforations, and comprising in addition a spring loop member having each end extending through one of said perforations and engaging one of said side walls and having its intermediate portion embedded in said masonry member.

2. A metal wall building construction comprising two meeting vertical walls each formed of a 5 plurality of preformed metal wall elements having one or more vertically extending hollow cells of closed cross-section and disposed in contiguous alined relationship, and a masonry structural member extending along the intersection of the planes of said walls and mechanically interlocking with one of the cells of each of said meeting walls adjacent the intersection thereof, said one cell of each of said meeting walls being provided with side walls having perforations, and comprising in addition, reinforcing means formed as a spring loop having end portions extending through two of said perforations and engaging the side wall of a cell adjacent said perforations and having its intermediate portion embedded in said masonry member.

3. A metal wall building construction comprising two meeting vertical walls each formed of a plurality of preformed metal wall elements having one or more vertically extending hollow cells and disposed in contiguous alined relationship, the adjacent hollow cells of the meeting walls having side walls provided with perforations, a masonry structural member extending along the intersection of the planes of said walls, and a masonry structural member disposed within at least one of said adjacent hollow cells and having portions extending through said perforations into structural engagement with said first-named masonry member.

GEORGE VINCENT PALMER. 

